Trace Adkins Is ‘Proud to Be Here’ With New Album and a Hit Single

Country superstar Trace Adkins has released his highly-anticipated 10th studio album, ‘Proud to Be Here,’ in stores today (August 2). The new collection of songs is the second album on his new label home, Show Dog-Universal Music, which is backed by fellow great, Toby Keith.

Throughout his 15-year career in the country music industry, Adkins has faced many of the ups and downs one encounters in the sometimes unstable business, but his drive and determination to succeed has made him one of the most sought-after entertainers in the genre. Adkins does admit that at times he wondered if he would get to this level of being in such high demand.

“I can’t hardly go back and listen to [my earlier albums], especially that first album, because that sounds to me like a inexperienced guy that’s in the studio scared to death,” Adkins tells Taste of Country. “That’s exactly what it was. I did the best I could, and I had some great songs to work with. I know in my opinion I have evolved and I have grown and I have gotten better [since then]. Now I can listen to this stuff and go, ‘This is about as good as I can do it.’ I think I’ve just grown and gotten a little better at what I do.”

Adkins began working on the ‘Proud to Be Here’ album in the springtime of this year, teaming up once again with producer Kenny Beard, who lent his talents to his previous album, ‘Cowboy’s Back in Town,’ as well as Mark Wright. As can be expected, the songs on ‘Proud to Be Here’ range from tongue-in-cheek tunes that will have you laughing, but also the tender and emotional songs that showcase deep sentiment, like his current single, ‘Just Fishin’.’

‘Just Fishin’,’ penned by Casey Beathard, Ed Hill and Monty Criswell, tells the story of a daddy taking his little girl fishing, but realizes that they are doing much more than the task at hand. The song’s video features Adkins’ youngest daughter, Trinity, and gives the viewers a different side of Adkins’ life in comparison to some of his bigger hits like ‘Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,’ ‘Hot Mama,’ and the Blake Shelton duet, ‘Hillbilly Bone.’

“There’s probably been a song in this vein on every album I’ve done,” Adkins notes of his latest hit that is quickly approaching the Top 10. “A couple of times [those songs] in the past have been singles. I don’t know if I’m going to do it any more or any less, but it’s just something that I’ve always done, and this time they thought enough of the song to put it out as a single. I didn’t have a problem with that.”

While Adkins is not a writer on his latest single, which easily could be a page out of his own life, his name can be found on a handful of the album’s other tracks — ‘Days Like This’ (written with Casey Beathard and Kenny Beard), ‘Semper Fi’ (written with Beard and Monty Criswell) and ‘If I Was a Woman’ (written with Beards, Jeff Bates and Sherrie Austin) — the latter of which are only found on the Deluxe Edition of ‘Proud to Be Here.’

Adkins knew after putting the finishing touches on ‘If I Was a Woman’ that there was only one duet partner in country music that he could see collaborating on the song with … Blake Shelton. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio,” Adkins says of working once again with Shelton. “We just laughed. I picked at him, and he picked at me. We just went back and forth. Hopefully someday I will be able to release the unedited version of the stuff we did that day because it was pretty funny I thought.”

With his new album finished and in stores, Adkins is looking forward to getting back onto the silver screen after his recent role as the leader of a biker gang in the Matthew McConaughey movie, ‘The Lincoln Lawyer.’ Adkins stumbled into the acting spotlight, but has fallen in love with the environment and anxiously awaits his next role.

“There always seems to be something in the works … some kind of possibility that may happen,” Adkins says of his next movie role. “But I’ve learned of that business that you really don’t want to talk too much about the stuff until you have a release date because those things are notorious for not coming to fruition. I enjoy it when I have the chance to do it. I get a kick out of it. I really do. I enjoy getting outside of my comfort zone and doing something that challenges me. Really, being on the set with those incredibly talented people … that’s a stimulating experience.”

Until the Adkins can be seen on the big screen again, fans can check him out all over television stations throughout the month. To support the release of ‘Proud to Be Here,’ Adkins is hitting the television circuit full force in August including appearances on ‘Extra’ (August 2), ‘Fox & Friends (August 3), ‘Piers Morgan Tonight’ (August 10), E!’s ‘Chelsea Lately’ (August 11), ABC’s ‘CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock’ (August 14) and the History Channel’s two-hour special, ‘You Don’t Know Dixie’ (August 17).

In September, the singer will continue making his rounds when he commemorates the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by performing a special USO concert for troops and their families at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The special concert will mark the singer’s sixth USO tour to date. Also that month, Adkins will return to the oil rigs he worked before his music career for a special episode of the new GAC series, ‘Day Jobs.’ During the special, Adkins fearlessly takes cameras through the exhausting requirements of being a ‘roughneck’ for a day for the episode that premieres on September 14 on music network.

This week, ‘Just Fishin” continues to climb the country singles chart, where it is quickly approaching the Top 10. To order a copy of Adkins’ ‘Proud to Be Here’ album, click here.

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